Recently, I received a wireless thermometer from Thermoworks to try out. Their newest product is called Smoke and is specifically designed to help people barbecue and smoke food at home. Smoke has two parts - a base unit (which takes two of Thermoworks standardized Pro-Series probes) and a wireless receiver unit - which lets the user track the air temperature and the food temperature without going outside to the smoker.Thermoworks is selling the Smoke at $99 and this would definitely welcome tool for anyone who likes to slow cook food outside.

These days when I reach for a spatula to turn food in a pan, I've been finding myself grabbing the GastroMax Slotted Turner more often than not. Tina bought this spatula for me after months (or maybe years) of listening to me complain about our various spatulas. After buying the GastroMax Turner, my complaining has stopped.

Twelve years ago, I wrote an article comparing plastic and wood cutting boards which may be why one of the most frequent questions that I get is what cutting board do I use in my personal life. For the last six years, I have been using cutting boards made by Epicurean Cutting Surfaces and my wooden cutting boards haven't come out of storage for years. Here's why I like the Epicurean boards.

The Little Partners Learning Tower will probably be useful only for parents, but, it is so good at what it does, that I think everyone should know about it. If you don't have young kids, but, you know someone who does, this might be the ultimate gift that will be used for years to come.

It's been a while since I've written an article on Cooking For Engineers. There are lots of reasons for this including lack of time (or perhaps poor time management) and raising Emma (who is now nearly 3 years old), but I haven't stopped cooking and trying stuff in the kitchen. Many readers have encouraged me to return to writing and not worry so much about preparing an exhaustive article. A few have also suggested that to get back into writing, I could just write about stuff that I use or cook regularly. With that in mind, I've decided to start writing shorter equipment reviews to get back into the rhythm of writing. Then I was faced with the daunting task of picking what to write about first. After some more paralysis, I decided to write about a tool that I don't use that much anymore, but I'm happy to have on hand when I need it: OXO Good Grips Food Mill.

The word biltong comes from the Dutch words "bil"(rump) and "tong" (tongue or strips) so roughly translates as rump strips. It was created by the early Dutch settlers who quickly realized that meat would not stay fresh for long in that hot climate and that you would need to make provisions for your journey as there was no guarantee that you would find meat along the way. When Voortrekkers where moving though the wilderness of South Africa, they changed the indigenous curing process from one that used salt as the key curing ingredient to that of vinegar.Originally from Zimbabwe, Sebastian now lives in the UK where he spends some of his spare time in the kitchen cooking and experimenting with food and the gadgets that you find in the kitchen. You can visit his site http://www.twokitchenjunkies.com/ covering his take on cookware and kitchen gadgets that interest him.

A couple weeks ago, I had the opportunity to talk to Aaron Horowitz, CEO of Sproutel, about a project he's leading called Jerry the Bear. As a relatively new parent, I'm keenly aware now of just how fragmented and saturated the toy market is. There are several toys for nearly every niche one can imagine with quality varying from high to low, pricing from super-cheap to "those aren't toy prices", and playability from mere seconds of interest to a lifetime of attachment. As a firm believer in early learning through play, I find that most toys are educational in some respect (although some toys need a stretch of the imagination to determine how they aid in development). Rarely, have I encountered a toy like Jerry the Bear who is both cute and lovable and teaches children with health issues through role playing and caretaking.

If you have ever been to Zimbabwe or South Africa and you did not live in a cave while you were there, then you will know what a braai is (if you don't, check out this Wikipedia page that covers this).Because of the amazing weather and high temperatures that most of Southern Africa has all year round, braais are common way of socialising and a way of life for many. Southern African people spend a lot of time outdoors and so it is only natural that eating like this is so popular.Originally from Zimbabwe, Sebastian now lives in the UK where he spends some of his spare time in the kitchen cooking and experimenting with food and the gadgets that you find in the kitchen. You can visit his site http://www.twokitchenjunkies.com/ covering his take on cookware and kitchen gadgets that interest him.

Sorry, I dropped the ball this week and only just realized a couple hours ago that Thermoworks offered to give away a Thermapen if I ran a giveaway contest that ended this Saturday (tomorrow)! I think this will be the third year in a row that I'll be able to give away the best thermometer I've ever used for cooking. This post will be short so I can get it up quickly, but read on to see how to enter the drawing which will take place on the evening of December 13, 2014.

This year flew past so fast that I didn't even realize that next week is Thanksgiving. I've been offered a new product from Thermoworks to giveaway, and we're going to have to rush this giveaway to have it in time to be received by a lucky winner in time for Thanksgiving. The product is their brand new DOT probe alarm thermometer. If you're familiar with the ChefAlarm which I reviewed and gave away earlier this year, then this new product is similar - except it does only one thing and it does it well: monitor the temperature of the probe and sounds an alarm when the temperature reaches the set point. No count down timers, no count up timers, no alarm start or stop... just set the target temperature and you're done. Sometimes simple is just what is needed.

The nice guys over at Thermoworks have put together a great giveaway for Father's Day 2014 for Cooking For Engineers readers. This time around I'll be raffling off three items together as a bundle worth over $100 - Thermowork's ChefAlarm, Thermopop, and TimeStick.

After the sensory overload I encountered at the Winter Fancy Food Show, it was nice to visit the much more intimate Food Fête. However, compared to last year there seemed to be fewer exhibitors on display. I tried everything and there were still a few things worth mentioning, either because they were tasty or just weird.

I had the opportunity to visit the Winter Fancy Food Show on behalf of Cooking for Engineers this January. It was my first time attending this specialty food and beverage trade show and it is absolutely overwhelming in terms of the number of vendors exhibiting at the show. According to Specialty Foods Association, the sponsor of the show, there were 1300 exhibitors at this past show, representing not only North America but also many foreign countries.

When Modernist Cuisine came out in 2011, it was a pretty big deal with food and cooking enthusiasts. Essentially, they authors had taken what was known about cooking and compiled it in one six-volume set comprised of ease-to-read text, wonderful design, and beautiful photography. Unfortunately, initially there were a limited number of copies in print and the $500-$625 price tag for the set placed it a bit out of reach of the general public. In 2012, Modernist Cuisine at Home debuted at $140. This book was a single 450 page volume (plus a spiral-bound kitchen manual) which distilled the exhaustive information found in Modernist Cuisine's 2400 pages into a resource home chefs could easily take advantage of. As of late 2013, Modernist Cuisine at Home is now available digitally through Inkling and it is every bit as amazing as the previous incarnations at a much more accessible price point - $4.99 per chapter or $79.99 for the whole book.

Last year, I had the opportunity to give away a Thermapen and a Oven Alarm/Timer provided by Thermoworks. This year, they've offered to give away another Splash-Proof Super-Fast Thermapen! Read on to see how to enter the drawing which will take place on December 11, 2013.

Due to several recommendations from friends, we (spouse and I) decided to take a half-day cooking class while in Barcelona. Now I will in turn rave about it to any future visitors! Even if you do not normally enjoy cooking, as long as you enjoy eating, you will have a fabulous time. The classes are 65 euro per person - you get to learn to cook (and eat) four courses, drink what appeared to be an unlimited amount of Spanish wine, and hopefully meet some fun new people.

One of my most memorable meals during my recent trip to Spain was at Albert Adrià's Pakta, so that's the one that I really have to write about. My husband and I were so lucky that we scored reservations during the few days in May that we were in Barcelona, but I think that was partly due to the fact that the restaurant only opened in April so the buzz hadn't gotten out of control yet. When we went for dinner (at 7:30, which is an absurdly early time for most Spaniards), our waitress Sussie told us that the restaurant was in its seventh week. Therefore, we got to be some lucky guinea pigs for some of the menu items that Adrià wanted to try out.

I don't often get really excited about a Kickstarter campaign especially since a couple projects that I've backed haven't turned out as well as I had hoped (although there are others that have been quite successful). This one unites my love of programming and playing games into one board game for young children. My Emma is too young (she's only two months old) to play this game, but I plan on sharing it with her in a couple years. During the last few weeks, they've developed rules for grown ups so Robot Turtles: The Board Game for Little Programmers isn't just for kids anymore. The campaign only runs until this Friday (Sept. 27, 2013), so if you are interested, I encourage you to pledge sooner rather than later.

One of the founders of Codlo contacted me last week to tell me about the water bath temperature controller that they've designed and are planning to build with the assistance of Kickstarter (the online crowd funding website). I've used a variety of methods to control temperature in a water bath for sous vide cooking and one of my favorites is simple: plug in a PID controller equipped with a thermocouple to the wall and plug in a device like a rice cooker filled with water into the controller. Submerging a thermocouple connected to the PID controller in the water bath provides feedback so the controller can toggle the power to the heating device on and off to accurately control the temperature of the bath. Codlo is such a controller, but designed to be aesthetically pleasing, easy to use, and intuitive. The Kickstarter campaign begins at 9am PDT on Friday, June 28, 2013 and can be reached at http://get.codlo.com/.

Brownies are a controversial subject. By varying the proportions of a few simple ingredients you can get drastically different outcomes. Which style of brownies do you prefer: Cake-like fluffiness or batter-like gooeyness? Take this Espresso Brownie recipe for example; it is a standard recipe that I have enhanced with a shot of espresso. The addition of two fluid ounces of espresso changes the consistency and the depth of flavor. It adds a barely perceptible nuanced layer to the chocolate flavor profile, making it richer and more delicious. The consistency changes too. If you like moist and gooey brownies, try this recipe!Samantha Joyce is a writer for Seattle Coffee Gear and enjoys sharing her knowledge of all things coffee.